Dam pen ing-machine



(No Model.)

W. A. E. HENRIGI DAMPENING MACHINE.

No. 575,836. Patented Jan. 26, 1897.

I UNITED STATES VILLIAM A. E. HENRIOI, OF

PATENT OF icE.

CHELSEA, 'MASSACHUSETTS.

DAMPENlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 575,836, dated January 26, 1897. Application filed I'ehruary15, 1895. Serial No. 538,533. (No model.) Patented in England March 2, 1895, No. 4,487.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known thatLWILLIAM A. E. HENRICI, of Chelsea, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Dampening-Machines, (for which Letters Patent No. 1,487 dated March 2, 1895, have been secured in Great Britain,) of which the fol lowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters and numerals on the drawings representing like parts.

p This invention has for its object the production of a simple, compact, and eflicient machine for dampening shirts and other articles in laundry work, whereby the article is uniformly and rapidly dampened as it is passed through the apparatus, means being provided for regulating the amount of moisture to be imparted to the articles to be dampened; and the invention consists in various details of construction and arrangement hereinafter fully set forth in the specification and more particularly pointed out in the claim.

Figure 1, in front elevation and partially broken out, represents a dampening-machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a lefthand elevation thereof, the base being broken off to save space in the drawings. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional detail view taken through the axes of the rolls. Fig. 4 is a transverse section thereof, taken on the line w m, Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional detail of one of the dampening-rolls.

I have herein shown the machine as comprising a preferably hollow base or support A, the upper part branching laterally, as shown in Fig. 1, and standards a are secured thereto at the sides of the machine, as by suitable bolts 0, the said standards forming guides for journal-boxes b 0, through which extend the journals of the dampening-rolls B and O. The lower roll B for receiving and delivering the articles to be laundered is made hollow, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and each end is reduced in diameter to leave an annular shoulder 17 and at one end a hollow journal 6 (shown in Fig. 3,) the reduced tween the journalbox and the gear I) a smaller gear I), in engagement with an intermediate gear 6, which is engaged by another intermediate gear 7, the latter meshing with a gear 0 fast on the solid journal 0 of the hollow roll 0. The intermediate gears 6 and 7 are mounted on suitable studs secured in one of the standards a, positive rotation being transmitted from the gear 19 through the intermediates, to the gear 0 The opposite end of the roll 0 is reduced to leave a shoulder c and a hollow journal 0 extended through the journal-box c, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, it being evident from the foregoing description that the roll B is rotatably mounted in the boxes 5, which rest in the bottom of the guideway formed of the standards a, while the roll 0 is rotatably mounted in the vertically-adjustableboxes c. The boxes 0 are provided with suitably-threaded bosses 0 which are entered and engaged by threaded portions of short shafts c, rotatable in but held from longitudinal movement by the cross-pieces a secured to the top of the standards, said cross-pieces forming bearings a for a shaft a having beveled gears a thereon in engagement with similar gears 0, fast on the threaded shafts c Rotation of the shaft a by means of a suitable hand-wheel a in one'or the other direction will raise or lower the boxes 0, and consequently the roll 0, so that the space between the rolls B and C is readily adjusted.

Limiting-stops (shown as bolt-heads 0 regulate the movement of the boxes 0 in the direction of the bottom of the standards.

The rolls B and O are made of metal, preferably brass on account of its non-rusting properties, and they are exteriorly grooved longitudinally and circumferentially at 10 and 12, respectively, and preferably perforated at the intersections of said sets of grooves, as at 13, so that water being admit ted to the interior of the rolls, as will be described, will pass through the perforations 13, and, bymeans of the exterior grooves, will be quickly and evenly distributed to all parts of the circumference. The rolls are covered with a casing of wire-gauze g, and over the gauze a textile fabric '6 is tightly wrapped and secured in any manner, the number of thicknesses or layers of the textile covering depending upon the size of the rolls and the general character of the work to be dam pcned. The gauze or similar foraminous covering 9 breaks up and still more thoroughly distributes the moisture upon the surface of the roll, and the textile covering t becomes in a short time thoroughly and evenly dampened in such manner as to impart to the articles passed between the rolls the sufficient degree of dampness desired.

As clearly shown in Fig. 3, distributorpipes B and O are passed through the hollow journals 1) c of the rolls, the said pipes being perforated, as at 15, within the rolls and extending from one to the other end thereof. These distributing-pipes afford a means for evenly distributing the water over the whole inner surfaces of the revolving rolls throughout their length, so that even a very limited amount of water may also be evenly distributed thereover. The outer ends of the pipes are connected by suitable unions to an equalizer cl, the exits d and (Z thereof being equally curved to form overflows, as it were, intermediate the equalizer dand the distributor-pipes l3 and C, respectively, so that water admitted into the equalizer by means of a suitable valve (1 preferably a needle-valve, will pass in equal quantities therefrom to the distributorpipes, the amount of water distributed being controlled by the valve (Z As shown, the i11- ner ends of the distributing-pipes are closed, and the perforations 15 are located in their upper sides.

The ends of the hollow journals of the rolls are shown as projecting beyond their respective j ournal-boxes and threaded to receive thereon the stuffing-boxes b 0 to prevent anyleakage at such points, and the shoulders I) c on the rolls bear upon the journal-boxes and prevent longitudinal movement of the rolls.

A belt-pulley E is loosely mounted on a shaft 6 at the rear of the machine and secured to a bracket 6X, Figs. 1 and 2, the pulley having thereon one member, as e, of a clutch, the movable cooperating member 6 being also rotatable and longitudinally movable on the shaft 6, and having secured thereto a gear 6, (see dotted lines, Fig. 2,) in engagement with the large gear I). A clutch-shifter 0 moves the member 6 of the clutch into or out of engagement with the member a, so that the machine may be stopped or started at the will of the operator, power being transmitted to the apparatus from any suitable source by means of a belt (not shown) applied to the pulley E.

A squeeze-roll f is mounted in brackets f at the sides of the machine and is adapted to bear upon the periphery of the roll 13 to squeeze the surplus moisture therefrom, the pressure between the two rolls being regulated by adjusting-screws f adapted to bear upon the journals of the squeeze-roll.

The surplus moisture is preferably collected in a trough f beneath the lower roll and running the length of the machine, from which it is conveyed by a suitable outlet-pipe f to any desired point of discharge.

The articles to be dampened are fed in between the dampening-rolls B and C over a feed-table F, preferably provided with a fingenguard F to prevent the operators fingers from being drawn between the rolls by coming into contact therewith as the articles are fed along table F beneath the finger-guard. The dampened article is carried into a suitable receptacle F (see Fig. 2) by means of a traveling apron 7t. (Shown only in Fig. 4:.)

I preferably mount a roll it at the rear of the machine and beyond the roll 13, support ing it in suitable brackets '78, the traveling apron IL consisting, preferably, of a series of endless tapes passing around the periphery of the roll B and the roll h.

The movement of the apron in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 4, assists in delivering the article beyond the operating parts of the apparatus.

In orderto insure thoroughly pure and clean water for the dampening, I prefer to insert a suitable filter, as H, Fig. 1, between the equalizer-valve d and the source of water-supply.

By the construction herein shown and described various articles may be rapidly and evenly dampened, the structure of the rolls and the cooperating parts of the apparatus being such that the moisture is distributed evenly and thoroughly throughout the article as it passes through the machine, with the result that all parts are dampened alike, greatly facilitating and improving future operations in the laundry.

The teeth of the gears o and 7 are suiliciently long to remain in engagement, while permitting vertical movement of the former gear in adjusting the roll 0, and, as a matter of fact, very slight vertical movement of the roll is sufficient to adjust it.

The angular movement of a plane passed through the axes of the roll 0 and the gear 7, about the axis of the latter as a center, is never great enough to throw the teeth of the two gears out of proper engagement, the length of the teeth in consequence being increased but little over the ordinary.

The equalizing device is rigidly connected to one of the distributor-pipes, herein shown as the pipe 0, and to the other pipe, as B, by a telescopic joint 25, whereby the movement of the roll 0 in adjusting itis permitted,though obviously the arrangement could be reversed without departing from the invention.

I claim- In a dam polling-machine, a perforated roll having stationary bearings, a superposed perforated roll, and means to move it toward or from the lower roll, combined with distributer-pipes extended axially into and to deliver waterinto the interior of said rolls, an equal- In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of no two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM A. E. HENRICI.

Witnesses:

AUGUSTA E. DEAN, JOHN G. EDWARDS. 

